Community Outreach

Brain Boosters

Each week, we share interactive challenges with members of MyAlliance for Brain Health.

Select the date for the most current Brain Booster. Past Brain Boosters are listed in 2024, 2023 or 2022.

Brain Boosters

Week of February 17

What four-digit number has Digit 1 that is three smaller than Digit 4, which is one more than Digit 2, which is twice Digit 3, which is one more than one-third of Digit 4?

Hint: Start with digit 4 – it can only be one of three numbers. You can work back and forth from there.

Answer:

6849

Reasoning:

The Brain Booster indicates that digit 3 is more than one-third of Digit 4, so Digit 4 must be a multiple of 3, and the possibilities are
   - - - 3
   - - - 6
   - - - 9

Digit 3 is one more than one-third of Digit 4.

If Digit 4 is 3, then digit 3 is 1 + 1 = 2 ( - - 2 3)

If Digit 4 is 6, then digit 4 is 2 + 1 = 3 (- - 3 6)

If Digit 4 is 9, then digit 4 is 3 + 1 = 4 ( - - 4 9)

Next, we see that Digit 2 is twice Digit 3:
If Digit 3 is 2, then 2 x 2 is 4 ( - 4 2 3)
If Digit 3 is 3, then 2 x 3 is 6 ( - 6 3 6)
If Digit 3 is 4, then 2 x 4 is 8 ( - 8 4 9 )

The Brain booster tells us that Digit 4 is one more than Digit 2, which only leaves – 8 4 9

And Digit 1 is three smaller than Digit 4: 6 8 4 9.

What’s your favorite number? This week, we’re partial to 1, as in One Day One KU. Join us for the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, February 20, as we acknowledge the university’s annual 24 hours of giving. You’ll hear about neuroimaging from Dr. Robyn Honea, director of KU ADRC’s Neuroimaging Core. More details and the link to join are in this issue of MyAlliance.

Week of February 10

What four related words are merged here?
SWAS PURI UINM NTTU MGER MNER

Hints: The four words form a complete list. A groundhog weighed in on one of the words last week.

Answer:

Spring, summer, autumn and winter

By the time you receive this newsletter, spring will be only 38 days away – March 20!

Week of February 3

The phrase “from the heart" has been known to bring thoughts of love and passion to many. However, if you rearrange the 12 letters, you can come up with two 6-letter words that are opposite of each other, but also bring about thoughts of love and passion to many. What are those two words?

Hint: the last four letters of each word are the same.

Answer:

Mother and Father

Week of January 27

Rounding out January 2025, here's another numbers game - it focuses on your executive function and working memory, plus some language logistics:

Insert a written number into each incomplete word below, to create five words:

O P P___ N T

C A____ S

A R ___ R K

W _____ I N G

S E N ___ C E

Hint: the sum of all of the numbers is 30.

Bonus Brain Boosting: Once you've figured out the numbers that go into the blanks, see if you can think of more words that include numbers entirely inside them - the number must have at least one letter before it and one after it (example: stunTWOman counts for 2, but FOURth doesn't for 4).

What words do you come up with? What number has the most words you can come up with? Any numbers that don't meet the criteria? See more details on the answer page here.

Answers

oppONEnt = 1

caNINEs = 9

arTWOrk = 2

wEIGHTing = 8

senTENce = 10

Bonus Brain Booster answers – There do not appear to be any words (in English) that have the numbers THREE (3), FOUR (4) FIVE (5) or SIX (6) entirely inside them – that is, with at least one letter before and after. For French speakers, the Free Dictionary includes the word carreFOURs, which translates to “a crosswords, public square or plaza” (that last one is also a Spanish word!).

On the other hand(s), these numbers appear in lots of words:

(not counted in this exercise are 14/(FOURteen), 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 (twenty-ONE), 31, etc., and every other instance of a numerical digit at the beginning or end of a word; also note that the Free Dictionary doesn’t include instances as high as 1,908,314, for example!):

ONE – 5, 529 (see the Free Dictionary’s word list for ONE and the other numbers starting here)

TWO – 359

SEVEN – 47 (but only two that follow the rule of this game – miSEVENt(s)

EIGHT - 181

NINE – 334

TEN – 4,357!

Want to boost your brain even more beyond? Make a list of some of the words that include one of these numbers doing double duty!

Week of January 20

Numbers not only calculate, they tell stories too!

Using the numbers and narrative below, determine the names of the racehorses participating in the derby and how many races they won.

11 was a racehorse

22 was 12

111 race

22112

Hint: Say each digit individually aloud.

Answer:

There are two racehorses: their names are One One (11) and Two Two (22).

Each horse (One One and Two Two) won one race!

Read aloud:

One One was a racehorse

Two Two was one too

One One won one race

Two Two won one too!

Week of January 13

Continuing last week’s challenge of numbering, try your hand at this one. No calculator is needed, but a pen, paper, and your own digits (fingers and toes) could help!

Painter Pete’s work duty was to paint the room numbers on all of the doors of the fourth floor of the local hotel.

Pete painted all of the numbers from 400 to 499.

How many times did he paint the number 4?

Hint: every digit counts!

Answer:

120 times.

100 times as the first digit in the numbers 400 to 499

9 times as the second digit in 440, 441, 442, 443, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449

9 times as the third digit in 404, 414, 424, 434, 454, 464, 474, 484, 494

2 times as the second and third digits in 444

400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499.

Further consideration: Do you want to count these digits without having to make a list or scan each one with your eyes?

Copy and paste the numbers 400 through 499 above into a blank document on your device and use the Find feature to ask how many times the number 4 appears. 120 indeed!

Using this same reasoning, could you figure out how many times the number 8 appears in the numbers 8,000 to 9,000?

Or any other number in another set of numbers?

Week of January 6

Happy 2025! As we kick off a new year, check out this Brain Booster that’s pretty straightforward and simple: click (or tap) on the numbers 1 through 100 in numerical order. The website will time you – how long do you think it will take you? When will you move more quickly? Is one set of digits (1-9, 40-50 or 91-100, for example), easier? After you’ve done it once, try again and see how your time changes. You can do this activity on a smartphone or tablet (use your finger or a stylus to tap the number) or on a laptop or desktop computer (use a mouse). Try more than one method to see how your time changes, and visit the answer page for some post-booster considerations.

https://www.brainbashers.com/1to100.asp

Answer:

Answers will vary and they are all correct!

Kelly G. Loeb, MSW, Community Engagement Coordinator did this Brain Booster and got these results:

Round 1: 4 minutes, 36.1 seconds (on a laptop computer using a mouse)
Round 2: 5 minutes, 12.9 seconds (laptop/mouse)
Round 3: 5 minutes, 27.8 seconds (on a tablet, using a finger)

I expected that I would get faster with each attempt, but I actually took longer each time! On the third round, I intentionally selected an incorrect number to see what would happen – nothing, except the clock kept ticking!

Considerations:

Is a shorter/faster completion time better? Maybe it is (if you’re in a race). Or perhaps a slower/longer completion time indicates more focus and care. Either way, this activity engages the brain, reaction and processing time and fine motor skills.
I noticed that each time I did this activity, the numbers were in a different order on the board, so I wasn’t relying on memory.
The laptop screen (oriented horizontally on my desk; I used my right hand on the mouse) is larger than the tablet screen (held vertically in my right hand while I tapped with my pointer finger on my left/dominant hand).
In each round I could see the timer ticking upward – I wasn’t especially aware of it in round 1, nor did I have a sense of how long it would take me.
For rounds 2 and 3 I had times to compare and felt somewhat more pressured by the clock, and ended up taking longer. In every round I was certain one or more numbers were missing! (They weren’t.)
See how you do with noise in the background vs. silence. Try other combinations and/or devices in your environment and see how that changes your outcome.
Share your thoughts/results if you like by sending email to myalliance@kumc.edu.

Week of December 9

2024 certainly has flown by like a COMET (learn about this study on our last Weekly Webinar of the year on Thursday, 12/12; the access information is in this issue of MyAlliance).

As we prepare to say farewell to this year and hello to 2025, solve this Brain Booster:

Each set of letters below contains two words or phrases that are synonyms of each other. The two words/phrases in set 1 are antonyms (opposites) of the two words/phrases in set 2.

1) BHAROUONLJO

2) AAHRURETAVLOAVSIIATS

Hint: if you speak more than one language, you probably will fly like a comet through this brain booster, and research says that’s good for your lifelong cognition, too! Even if you are not fluent other languages, you’ll recognize all of these words.

¡Buena suerte! Bonne chance!

Answers:

BONJOUR and HOLA – hello in French and Spanish

AU REVOIR and HASTA LA VISTA – goodbye in French and Spanish

Bonus for your brain:

Can you say hello and goodbye in any other languages? Learn how using Google Translate – more than 100 languages are available.

Week of December 2

The Brain Booster is back!

We hope you enjoyed the break, the Thanksgiving holiday with lots of great food, and perhaps even some shopping the days after.

This week's puzzle recognizes that you may be turkeyed out and ready for some different food, plus thinking about the costs of things as more holidays approach.

At a restaurant, an order of a main course, 5 coffees and 13 brownies comes to $68. An order of a main course, 4 coffees and 10 brownies comes to $54. What is the cost of a an order of a main course, 1 coffee and 1 brownie?

Bonus Booster Consideration: Only in math problems do people order such unusual quantities of things!

Source: 365 Brain Puzzlers - an official Mensa International Calendar, by Fraser Simpson.

Answer:

An order of a main course, 1 coffee and 1 brownie costs $12.

How to get there:

Write the information in the question as two equations:

M (standing for main course) + 5C (standing for coffee) + 13B (standing for brownies) = 68
M + 4C + 10B = 54

Get expressions for M and for C in terms of B.

Subtract the second equation from the first to get C + 3B = 14. We rearrange this and find that C = 14 - 3B.

Next, substitute this into the first equation to get M +5(14-3B) + 13B = 68. Expanding this equation results in M + 70 - 15B + 13B = 68.

Simplifying that equation results in M = 2B – 2. This is an equation for M in terms of B. We want to find the value of M + C + B.

Substituting in the expressions gives (2B – 2) + (14 - 3B) + B. The Bs cancel out and this simplifies to -2 + 14, which is 12.

Whew! After all that calculating, have a main course, some coffee and as many brownies as you like! You’re in good company with Mensa International.

And if your brain needs some nurturing, check out the Mindful Minutes in this week’s newsletter, give Today’s Tip a try and join us for a conversation with the Cognitive Care Network on the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, December 5 at 2:00 pm Central.

Week of November 18

Who baked the cake?

Without anyone seeing it happen, someone left a beautiful chocolate cake in the break room for everyone to enjoy.

Wanting to express their gratitude, a curious group of dessert lovers asked around. Below is a summary of the statements they received.

The investigative team members know that each person told the truth in one of the statements and lied in the other.

From this information, can you tell who baked the cake?

Ashley said:
   It wasn't Drew
   It wasn't Billie

Billie said:
   It wasn't Casey
   It was Drew

Casey said:
   It was Ashley
   It wasn't Drew

Drew said:
   It was Casey
   It wasn't Ashley

Answer
Billie baked the cake.

Reasoning
We know that each of them told the truth in one of the statements and lied in the other.

So according to Ashley, as one of her statements is false, it must have been either Drew or Billie.

If it was Drew, then Billie's statements would both be true, which isn't allowed.

Therefore, it was Billie, which agrees with Casey and Drew's statements.

Week of November 11

When are these answers correct?

6 +8 = 5
21 - 10 = 2
9 x 8 = 9
46 / 2 = 5
(6 x 5) - (4 + 9) = 8
62 / (5 + 3 - 6) = 4

Hint: Consider that all of the answers are only one digit.

Answer:

They're correct when the answer is the sum of the real answer's digits.

6 + 8 = 14 (1+4 is 5)
21-10 = 11 (1 +1 is 2)
9 x 8 = 72 (7 + 2 = 9)
46 / 2 = 23 (2 + 3 = 5)
(6 x 5)-(4 + 9) = 17 (1 + 7 = 8)
62 / (5 + 3 - 6) = 31 (3 + 1 = 4)

For answers to caregiver questions, attend the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, November 14 at 2:00 pm CT. The link is in this issue of MyAlliance for Brain Health.

Week of November 4

Which of the four shapes comes next in this sequence?

Hint: Keep things in numerical order. Squinting your eyes might help.

Answer:

The shapes are the spaces between the digits in the numbers 27, 28, 29, and 30, therefore C is the correct answer, as it is the space between the digits in the number 31.

Week of October 28

Trick or Treat – what does this string of digits add up (or subtract down) to?

0+0-0+1-1+2-2+3-3+4-4+5-5+6-6+7-7+8-8+9-9+10-10+11-11+12-12+13-13+14-14+15-15+16-16+17-17+18-18+19-19+20-20+21+22-22+23-23+24-24+25-25+26-26+27-27+28-28+29-29+30-30+31-31+32-32+33-33+34-34+35-35+36-36+37-37+38-38+39-39+40-40+41-41+42-42+43-43+44-44+45-45+46-46+47-47+48-48+49-49+50-50=??

Hint: Sing along - I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes!

Answer:

21!

You don’t actually need to do all the math to calculate this.

This mile-long stream of numbers and math operations seems like it would be quite a trick to solve. The treat to getting the answer is to look closely at the numbers and the pattern of plus and minus signs alongside them. Starting with 0 and ending with 50, you are first adding, then subtracting each number – all except for the number 21! You’re only adding 21 to what turns out to be 0 on each side of it.

To treat both your mind and body, check out this bonus Halloween Brain and Body Booster:

https://grfit4kids.org/resources/Halloween-Brain-Boosters-2017.pdf

Fun fact: “The Sign” is a #1 pop song released October 29, 1993 by Swedish band Ace of Base. For the lyrics and more about this international hit, visit https://genius.com/Ace-of-base-the-sign-lyrics

Week of October 21

Time flies when you’re having fun!

As far as MyAlliance for Brain Health is concerned, Mondays (when you receive the newsletter) and Thursdays (Weekly Webinar day!) are the best days of the week. Work on solving this tongue-twister of a brain booster, enjoy the whole newsletter, and join us on Thursday, October 24 for a presentation on Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome.

What day would tomorrow be if...

...yesterday was five days before the day after Sunday's tomorrow?

Answer
Saturday.

Reasoning
It's best to work backwards:

   "Sunday's tomorrow"

is Monday.

   "the day after Sunday's tomorrow"

is therefore Tuesday.

   "five days before the day after Sunday's tomorrow"

is therefore Thursday.

   "yesterday was five days before the day after Sunday's tomorrow"

yesterday was Thursday, making today Friday. Therefore tomorrow is Saturday.

Source: brainbashers.com

Week of October 14

Hidden in these sentences are the numbers 1 to 10 (in words).

A number might appear in more than one sentence, but there is only one way to use all of the sentences and find all ten numbers.

The robins love hiding amongst the smooth reeds.

It's always worth looking after your friends, even if they've upset you.

Even heavyweight boxers like using soft tissues when they have a cold.

To avoid the calf, I veered sharply to the left.

The eggs were boxed thirteen instead of a dozen in each baker's delivery box.

Having salmon every day for lunch gets a little boring after a while.

The attendance at the local football match exceeded last week's by many thousands.

We need to waterproof our boots to make sure we don't get wet.

Meeting friends after work allows executives to network effectively.

The orchestra sounded magnificent with the three virtuosi xylophonists.

Hints: the number eight appears at the end of a word. Sometimes a number is hidden in more than one word.

Answers:

3 – The robins love hiding amongst the smooTH REEds.
7 – It's always worth looking after your friendS, EVEN if they've upset you.
8 – Even heavywEIGHT boxers like using soft tissues when they have a cold.
5 – To avoid the calF, I VEered sharply to the left.
9 – The eggs were boxed thirteen instead of a dozeN IN Each baker's delivery box.
1 – Having salmON Every day for lunch gets a little boring after a while.
10 – The atTENdance at the local football match exceeded last week's by many thousands.
4 – We need to waterprooF OUR boots to make sure we don't get wet.
2 – Meeting friends after work allows executives to neTWOrk effectively.
6 – The orchestra sounded magnificent with the three virtuoSI Xylophonists.

Week of October 7

Below are thirteen 5-letter words, each of which has had two of its letters removed.

Every letter of the alphabet, from A to Z, is represented in the blank spaces one time. For example, if you solved g _ a _ e for grace, you would not then use the letters r or c in any other blank space in the puzzle.

The remaining letters in each word are in the correct order.

There are no words that are spelled differently based on location (e.g., favour or favor) and there are no plurals.

Can you find the original words?
1. -ai-e

s-ua-
-e-el
-o-ed
-na-e
fog--
c--mp
b--jo
-r-it
-re-t
-av-n
mu--c
mou--

Hint: one word is a musical instrument, and another word is part of a word in this sentence!

Answers
-ai-e = maize (MZ)

s-ua- = squad (QD)

-e-el = jewel (JW)

-o-ed = foxed (FX)

-na-e = knave (KV)

fog-- = foggy (GY)

c--mp = clump (LU)

b--jo = banjo (AN)

-r-it = orbit (OB)

-re-t = crept (CP)

-av-n = raven (RE)

mu--c = music (SI)

mou-- = mouth (TH)

The solution above uses common words; the solution below uses the less common word CLOMP.
-ai-e = maize (MZ)

s-ua- = squad (QD)

-e-el = jewel (JW)

-o-ed = boxed (BX)

-na-e = knave (KV)

fog-- = foggy (GY)

c--mp = clomp (LO)

b--jo = banjo (AN)

-r-it = fruit (FU)

-re-t = crept (CP)

-av-n = raven (RE)

mu--c = music (SI)

mou-- = mouth (TH)

Week of September 29

Letter by Letter

On the October 3 Weekly Webinar, we’ll talk with Deborah Shouse about her new book Letters from the Ungrateful Dead: A Grieving Mom’s Surprising Correspondence with her Deceased Adult Daughter. Tune in for insight, nurturing, and yes, laughs, about caregiving, grief, and connection (the link is in this issue of MyAlliance). Boost your brain with the challenge below in which you transform one word into another, letter by letter.

A complete word is a word in which every letter, in turn, can be replaced by another to form a new word.

For example, RUG is a complete word because:
   -ug = hug
   r-g = rig
   ru- = run

How many of the following words are not complete words? Proper nouns and names are not allowed.
team

cost

flew

ward

fail

look

soft

most

lamp

load

Reminder: you must change one letter at a time, starting with the first letter of the word and going in order until the last letter of the word.

Answer
Three of the words are not complete: flew, rook, lamp.

Reasoning
The remaining 7 words can be changed as follows:
team:

-eam = beam
t-am = tram
te-m = term
tea- = tear

cost:

-ost = host
c-st = cast
co-t = coat
cos- = cosy

flew: NOT COMPLETE

-lew = blew
f-ew = ---- *
fl-w = flow
fle- = flex

ward:

-ard = card
w-rd = word
wa-d = wand
war- = warm

fail:

-ail = nail
f-il = foil
fa-l = fall
fai- = fair

rook:NOT COMPLETE

-ook = book
r-ok = ---- *
ro-k = rock
roo- = roof

soft:

-oft = loft
s-ft = sift
so-t = sort
sof- = sofa

most:

-ost = cost
m-st = mast
mo-t = moat
mos- = moss

lamp: NOT COMPLETE

-amp = damp
l-mp = lump
la-p = ---- *
lam- = lamb

load:

-oad = road
l-ad = lead
lo-d = loud
loa- = loaf

Source: www.brainbashers.com/puzzle/ztiq

Bonus Brain Booster: Try your hand and brain at finding more complete (and incomplete) words. We’d love to see your answers – send an email to myalliance@kumc.edu.

Week of September 23

How long does it take to get to 1 million seconds? How about 1 billion seconds?

1. The year 2001 started at the midnight that falls between December 31, 2000 and January 1, 2001. What was the day, date and time exactly 1 million seconds later?

Friday, January 12, 2001, 1:46:40 pm
Monday, December 31, 2001, 11:59:59 pm
Sunday, February 29, 2004 (Leap Day!), noon
It hasn’t happened yet

2. At what age is someone 1 billion seconds old?

65
18
31
No one could possibly live that long

3. When will (or did) you reach the age of 1 billion seconds?

Use the calculator here to find out!

https://www.brainbashers.com/billion.asp

Hint: Perhaps the lyrics in Rent’s Seasons of Love will help you scale these mega numbers – “525, 600 minutes! How do you measure, measure a year?”

Answers:

Friday, January 12, 2001 at 1:46:40 pm was 1 million seconds past midnight on January 1, 2001!
A little more than 31.5 years, to be precise! Lots of people make it to 1 billion seconds. To make it to 1 trillion seconds, you’d have to be 31,688 years old!
Answers vary depending on your date of birth!

The difference between 1 million seconds, 1 billion seconds and 1 trillion seconds is vast: 12 days, 31 years and 31,688 years, respectively! We’re glad only 604,800 seconds (7 days) pass between each issue of MyAlliance for Brain Health!

Time flies when you’re having fun! Join us on Thursday, September 26 for the Weekly Webinar on Connecting the Dots: How Key Habits Work Together to Support Brain Health!

Week of September 16

A participant has been pacing herself in a 10k race. She has to pick up the pace in the final lap to win the race. Can you help this athlete increase her speed by changing one letter at a time? Each step must produce a valid word in the English language.

SLOW ----> FAST

Hint 1: two sets of words in the answer rhyme.

Hint 2: If the participant wins the race, there will be a parade featuring these must-have items that you can spell using the new letters.

Pick up your PACE and join us on Thursday, September 19 for the Weekly Webinar about PACE – Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. The link to join is in this issue of MyAlliance.

Answer

Hint 1: soot and loot rhyme; so do last and fast

Hint 2: The new letters are T, O, L, S, A, F = FLOATS are must-have items in parades.

Words: SLOW, SLOT, SOOT, LOOT, LOST, LAST, FAST

Week of September 9

Happy 9/9! 9 might be a lucky number: In many places, including China and Japan, 9 is considered a lucky number and is associated with longevity and good fortune. This week, the number 9 will help boost your brain when you solve the brain booster.

Discover the link joining the following nine words in order to transform them into nine new* answer words.
park
plum
mania
bear
cod
of
son
bus
tax

Hint: keep these nine words in the order they are presented, and remember your ABCs!

*Fun fact about the number 9:

The words in French, German, and Spanish for the number nine are all connected with their respective words for new. In French, neuf is used for both nine and new. Likewise, neun means nine in German, while neu means new; in Spanish, nueve means nine while nuevo means new.

Answers:

park - parka

plum- plumb

mania – maniac

bear – beard

cod – code

of – off

son – song

bus – bush

tax – taxi

Each answer word is derived by appending to the corresponding original word each successive letter of the alphabet, starting with the letter a.

So park becomes parka, plum becomes plumb and mania becomes maniac, and so forth.

Bonus Brain Booster: can you think of another set of 9 words that follows this or a similar pattern? Try using the rest of the alphabet. It seems like the letters J and Q might be especially challenging!

If you do come up with another set of words, let us know at myalliance@kumc.edu.

Week of September 2

Bike or Walk or ???

On the next Weekly Webinar, Amy Scrivner of BikeWalkKC addresses the question, “What happens when driving is a prerequisite for thriving?” Cycling through this Brain Booster may have you searching for solutions to transportation trouble. Join us on September 5 to hear Amy’s expertise; the link is in this issue of MyAlliance for Brain Health.

Justin Time was on a grueling trip from his hometown of Neutron to the town of Proton. Justin and his bicycle were able to hitch a ride to the town of Electron, which was exactly halfway to Proton. The ride lasted one hour, and was ten times faster than if Justin had cycled the same distance. When Justin got out of the car at Electron he noticed his tire was flat, which meant walking the rest of the way to Proton. Walking took him twice as long as cycling. When Justin finally reached Proton, he repaired his bicycle tire and rode the entire distance home to Neutron. How much time did each trip take and which of the two was faster?

Answer:

The return trip was faster. Since it was one hour to Electron by car, which was ten times faster than cycling (10 hours), the time from Electron to Proton took an additional 20 hours since he walked, and walking took twice as long as cycling. Therefore, the first half of the trip took a total of 21 hours. The return trip took Justin 20 hours, since he cycled the entire distance and cycling is twice as fast as walking.

This Brain Booster helps us to see how crucial multiple methods of transportation are! Hear more from Amy Scrivner of BikeWalkKC on the September 5 Weekly Webinar.

Week of August 26

Daniel, my son, is exactly one fifth of my age. In 21 years time, I will be exactly twice his age. My wife is exactly seven times older than my daughter, Jessica. In 8 years time, my wife will be three times older than Jessica. How old are Daniel and Jessica now?

Hints: Seven is a lucky number here! Thinking about even vs. odd numbers as well as multiples of seven and three is a good strategy. You can use a calculator (and/or your fingers)!

Also, speaking of ages, join us to hear author Sonya Jury talk about Mom Forgot My Birthday: A Daughter’s Journey through Alzheimer’s at our special hybrid Weekly Webinar on Thursday, August 29 at 2:00 pm Central time. Details are in this issue of MyAlliance.

Answer:

Daniel is 7 and Jessica is 4.

Rationale

Start with the hint: lucky number 7. Daniel is 1/5 of the speaker’s age, and 7 x 5 = 35. In 21 years, the speaker will be 35 + 21 = 56. At 56, the speaker is twice Daniel’s age, making Daniel age 28 in 21 years. 56 is exactly twice 28. Daniel is age 7.

Starting with an odd number like 7 leads you to an even number, which is important because the speaker mentions being exactly twice Daniel’s age. If you start Daniel at an even-numbered age, like 14, that makes the speaker an even-numbered age 70, and in 21 years the speaker would be 91, which is not exactly twice Daniel’s then-age of 35. Starting with an even number will lead to odd numbers for the speaker’s age in 21 years, and those cannot be evenly divided by two.

If you start with an odd number other than 7, the equation doesn’t work (for example, 9 x 5 = 45. If the speaker is 45, in 21 years, the speaker would be 66. At age 9, in 21 years Daniel would be 30, and 66 is not exactly twice 30. Whew!

As for Jessica, we know that the speaker’s wife is currently seven times older than Jessica and will be three times Jessica’s age in 8 years, so consider numbers that are multiplied by 7 and that, when added to 8, are divisible by 3. 4 (Jessica’s current age) x 7 = 28 (the wife’s current age). In eight years, Jessica will be 12, and 12 x 3 is 36. 28 + 8 = 36. Jessica is age 4. Solving this one takes a bit of trial and error, and it’s fun to see it all add up!

Source: braingle.com (for the original question and answer); Kelly G. Loeb, MSW for the hints and explanation. Follow MyAlliance for more math marvels!

Week of August 19

This week’s challenge involves letter boxing. Complete the word square by inserting the 9 letters below into the grid, to create the same words reading down & across.

D E E L L L O O O

E A C H
A _ _ _
C _ _ _
H _ _ _

Hint: one of the words is a hint of weather to come.

Answer:

E A C H
A L O E
C O O L
H E L D

Each, Aloe, Cool, Held

Cool weather may soon be on the way – we’re only 34 days away from September 22, the first day of fall!

Week of August 12

In each sentence a word is concealed, such as the word no in sentence five. If you can find the buried words and read them in order from 1 to 6, they will form a well-known proverb.

1. The word buried here has only one letter.
2. Did you find a jelly roll in Gaskin's Bakery?
3. It's the best one I've ever seen.
4. The rug at her stairway was made in India.
5. He's an old friend.
6. Amos sold his bicycle to a friend.

Hint: Unlike a certain band, you will get plenty of satisfaction from solving this brain booster!

Answer

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

Be sure to roll into our Weekly Webinars every Thursday at 2:00 Central time!

1.The word buried here has only one letter. A
2.Did you find a jelly roll in Gaskin's Bakery? rolling
3.It's the best one I've ever seen. stone
4.The rug at her stairway was made in India. gathers
5.He's an old friend. no
6.Amos sold his bicycle to a friend. moss

For more brain boosting, try your hand at hiding another well-known phrase into a group of sentences. How about one of these:

Every cloud has a silver lining

Birds of a feather flock together

We’d love to see what you come up with!

Week of August 5

This Thursday is 08/08 - an august day, indeed! In this week's Brain Booster, there are 8 words to find with the help of these 8 definitions and anagrams. What are they?

Boost your brain even more by joining us on Thursday, 08/08 at 2:00 pm Central for our Weekly Webinar on a new biomarker study for Alzheimer's disease.

1) What the shipbuilder did (hand-clue)
2) Found in toothpaste (dour-file)
3) Used to reckon time (land-acre)
4) A large kettle (laud-corn)
5) Found in newspaper (nail-heed)
6) Campers need them (orbs-dell)
7) Eccentric people (dabs-doll)
8) A wooden interlocking joint (viol-date)

Answers

1) Launched
2) Fluoride
3) Calendar
4) Cauldron
5) Headline
6) Bedrolls
7) Oddballs
8) Dovetail

Week of July 29

Juan asks Javier: will you lend me the bicycle tomorrow, Monday?

Javier answers: I will lend it to you 6 days after the day before yesterday.

When will Juan get the bike?

Answer:

Juan will get the bike on Wednesday.

He asks for the bike tomorrow, Monday, which makes today Sunday. Since it’s Sunday, the day before yesterday (Saturday) is Thursday, and 6 days after that is Wednesday.

Speaking of Wednesday, join us for the next session of the Family Series on Wednesday, July 31! We’ll be talking about activities and engagement. Register here

Week of July 22

Just as our currently running Family Series is helping caregivers keep things in order, this week’s Brain Booster fits that category.

Aviva was planning to take a trip around the world. She liked names that were similar to hers, so she made a list of places she would like to visit.

However, one of these places doesn't belong. Which one is it?

Arrawarra, Australia
Caraparac, Peru
Daba Qabad, Somalia
Ilokano, Polynesia

Krape Park, Illinois
Nagubugan, Philippines
Oktahatko, Florida

Hint: Last week’s Brain Booster will help you move forward.

Answer:

Ilokano, Polynesia is the place Aviva won’t go – unlike all the other city names, it’s not a palindrome (a word/phrase that reads the same forward and backward).

Bonus Brain Booster: can you identify any other palindromic place names? Check out this Wikpedia article for a list!

Week of July 15

Last week we considered Series Seriousness; this time we'll boost our brains by putting things in order! Speaking of series and putting things in order, check out our Family Series starting 7/17 - details in this issue of MyAlliance.

Take the list of words below and arrange them into 3 sentences that all have something in common. Each word is only used once for each time it appears in the list. Punctuation is not an issue in this teaser in the initial placement of words. Only names are capitalized to start with.

DAD, LET, LETS, LEW, MARGE, MISSES, NO, NORAH, ORDERED, ROSES, SEE, SHARON'S, SIMON, TELEGRAM, TELL, WE'LL,

What are the sentences and what do they have in common?

Hint: they go both ways.

Answer:

1: MARGE LETS NORAH SEE SHARON'S TELEGRAM.
2: WE'LL LET DAD TELL LEW.
3: NO MISSES ORDERED ROSES, SIMON.

All three sentences, when correctly placed, are palindromes. They read the same backward and forward.

Week of July 8

Series Seriousness!

In conjunction with our upcoming Family Series (watch our webinar about this class for family caregivers on Thursday, July 11; use the link in this issue of MyAlliance), figure out the number that comes next in the following series:

3, 7, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 25, 30, 41, 45, 52, 54, 56, 59, 61, 65, 70, ?

Hint: When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

Answer:

This is a series of Roman Numerals consisting of three symbols, so next up is 91: XCI

3 - III
7 - VII
12 - XII
14 - XIV
16 - XVI
19 - XIX
21 - XXI
25 - XXV
30 - XXX
41 - XLI
45 - XLV
52 - LII
54 - LIV
56 - LVI
59 - LIX
61 - LXI
65 - LXV
70 – LXX

91 – XCI

Bonus Brain Booster: What other Roman numerals have three digits each? What’s the largest Roman numeral with 3 digits you can think of?

Use the Roman numeral calculator here to confirm your figures!

Week of July 1

Unscramble the words relevant to this week’s holiday below, then take the letters from each word as instructed.

UHOTRF - letters 1 and 4
CEBRUAEB - letters 3 and 5
RSEKLAPSR - letters 1 and 5
LREEAWAD - letter 5
GNESCROS - letter 2
BYRETIL - letter 2

Now unscramble the letters you have collected!

Hint: work backwards from the words you unscramble to the selected letters to figure out the final solution if you need to!

Answers

FOURTH = F, R

BARBECUE = R, E

SPARKLERS = S, K

DELAWARE* = W

CONGRESS = O

LIBERTY = I

New word: FIREWORKS!

*Bonus fourth fact: Why is DELAWARE included in this list?

Delaware is known by the nickname The First State because on December 7, 1787, it became the first of the 13 original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Happy 4^th of July!

Week of June 24

Read the poem below and decide who (or what) is narrating and what the character is naming.

Yeah, they keep me locked up, but I guess I'm thankful, in short.
I hand out the beatings, while my neighbors import and export.
We make a good team, especially me as the muscle,
But with two dozen guards, I'm glad we never tussle.
But really, I got a lotta my own connections,
Imports, exports, with thousands collectin'.
But between us, there's really no competition,
I call it harmonizin' cause we're on the same mission.
No one is unnecessary, or, you know, too small,
The guy upstairs is the boss of it all.
He's also incarcerated, but for his good I bet it is,
Business is good, so long as we get the messages.

Hint: solving this riddle does a body good!

Answer

Body parts are at the heart of this mindful operation!

The HEART is the one doing the talking. He is thankful to be “locked up" or guarded by the "two dozen guards," the RIBS that humans have in 2 pairs. The ribs protect and guard both the heart and the LUNGS (2). The LUNGS are the “neighbors” that have the job of "importing" and "exporting" oxygen and carbon dioxide. The heart is - literally speaking - the muscle, and “hands out the beatings” (heartbeats). Of course, the heart itself has many "connections" or veins, arteries, and capillaries that "import" and "export" that valuable fluid we call blood. None of these members' job is unnecessary, or small, and they never compete with each other because they have the one mission of keeping a person alive. And, last but not least, the "guy upstairs" who is "the boss of it all" is “incarcerated” by - yes - the skull. He is none other than the BRAIN, which sends electrical messages to all the other members via nerves, which tell them what to do. Business is good so long as these messages are sent. If they aren't, nothing is moving, and....well, then you're dead.

Source: www.braingle.com

So that we don’t end on a morbid note, we’ll close by saying the heart, lungs, ribs, brain and other body organs, muscles, bones and other important parts work together to keep us alive. Our research at the KU ADRC focuses on the best to ways care for ourselves and each other.

Week of June 17

A 3-letter word has been taken out of each of the following words. Can you figure it out?

S _ _ _

_ _ _ AL

MA _ _ _ RE

_ _ _ LE

Hints: the same 3-letter word is correct for each item, and when you know this word, it's Uber easy to get a Lyft!

Here's another one:

A four-letter word has been taken out of each of the following words.

G_ _ _ _FUL

EMB_ _ _ _

B_ _ _ _S

UNT_ _ _ _ABLE

Bonus: there's a second four-letter word that can fit in one of the words above. What is it and which word can it also fit?

Answers

Group 1: the word is CAB – making the words SCAB, CABAL, MACABRE and CABLE

Group 2: the word is RACE – making the words GRACEFUL, EMBRACE, BRACES and UNTRACEABLE

Bonus: the word RATE can also be added to G_ _ _ _ FUL, making GRATEFUL, which we are for your subscription to MyAlliance!

Boost your brain more by thinking of even more words!

Week of June 10

Numbers Game – Sign of the Times

Put your operations in order by placing the correct mathematical sign in each space so that the equation is correct.

195 __ 10 = 205

1600 __ 16 = 100

2 __ 2 = 4

913 __ 816 __ 66205 __ 2024 = 3.172.87

A prize for whoever figures this one out! Calculators are allowed! Don’t die hard on this one.

Bonus question: True or False? Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

Answers

195 + 10 = 205

1600 / 16 = 100 (anything that represents a division sign is correct here)

2 + OR x 2 = 4 (not a trick question)

913 – 816 x 66205 / 2024 = 3.172.87 (not a trick question either!)

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? This is a hotly debated topic. Join us on the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, June 13 to share your opinion!

Week of June 3

What is the missing number in this SEQUENCE?

22 13 ? 17 13 36 33 13

Hint: You might think math matters in this brain booster. Math is always a great way to train your brain. However, in last week’s Brain Booster, we traveled around the world using a QWERTY keyboard. You’ll find that useful for this week’s challenge too!

For more about training your brain, watch the recording of our May 30 Weekly Webinar. Rosie Pasqualini tells us the truth about brain training!

Answer

This series of numbers spells out the word SEQUENCE using a QWERTY keyboard.

The missing number is 11, which stands for row 1, letter 1, or Q

22 13 11 17 13 36 33 13

S = row 2, letter 2

E = row 1, letter 3

Q = row 1, letter 1

U = row 1, letter 7

E = row 1, letter 3

N = row 3, letter 6

C = row 3, letter 3

E = row 1, letter 3

Week of May 27

On last week's webinar, we talked travel (watch the recording for tips here)!

Flex your fingers on your keyboard to think of these clever destinations:

What country can you spell using only one row on a standard keyboard? Can you think of a second one?
What world city can you spell using only one row on a keyboard? (Hints: as you figure this out, don't do the first four letters of this capital place's name!)
What US state can you spell using only one row on a keyboard?
What continent can you spell using only one row on a keyboard?

Another hint: One row of your keyboard is absolutely not involved - think about why!

Answers

PERU. 2^nd one: EIRE (another name for IRELAND)
QUITO, the capital city of ECUADOR. Don’t QUIT!
ALASKA
EUROPE

Regarding the hint: the bottom row on your keyboard – Z X C V B N M – has no vowels!

If you’re doing the Brain Booster to train your brain, check out our Weekly Webinar on The Truth about Brain Training on Thursday, May 30 – the link is in your MyAlliance newsletter.

Week of May 20

With summer just a breath away, many will soon get on the road (or the water or in the air) for travel time! This week's Brain Booster is a travel tally. Using the clues below, determine how many miles the Carr family rode the wheels each day of their trip:

On the first 5 days of vacation, the Carr family drove 1,427 miles. They left on Friday, and the minimum and maximum distances for one day's trip were 200 and 355 miles. They arrived at their destination late on Tuesday.

1. Since they left late, they drove the least number of miles on the first day.
2. They drove 105 miles more on the second day than on the first.
3. On Monday they drove the most.
4. On Tuesday they drove 68 miles less than on Saturday.

How many miles did the Carr family ride the wheels each day?

Hint: it may be helpful to use the clues out of numerical order!

For more about travel, tune in to the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, March 23 to hear travel tips for people experiencing cognitive change and caregivers. The Zoom link is in this newsletter.

Answer

Friday – 200 miles (the family’s minimum distance in one day was 200, and clue 1 says they drove the least number of miles on the first day)

Saturday – 305 miles (the family drove 105 miles more on the second day than on the first; 200 + 105 = 305)

Sunday – 330 miles (the family drove 1,427 miles in total, so if we add up 200 + 305 + 355 + 237 miles we get 330 miles left for Saturday).

Monday – 355 miles (clue 4: On Monday they drove the most, and we know that 355 is their maximum mileage for one day)

Tuesday – 237 miles (on Tuesday they drove 68 miles less than on Saturday, and we know they drove 305 miles on Saturday).

Bonus consideration – if you were to leave from your home on a Friday, and drive the same number of miles each day as the Carr Family, where would you be by Tuesday?

Use a map to figure it out (answers will vary – feel free to let us know yours by sending email to myalliance@kumc.edu).

Week of May 13

This week's Brain Booster is a chain reaction - your goal is to connect the first word with the last word by making compound words.

Example:
Ball
Game
Some
Time
Table
Ware
House

The words connecting ball and house are:
ballgame
gamesome
sometime
timetable
tableware
warehouse

Your turn! Make the chain between LOW and SHOT. Use the list and number of letters following the first word to guide you.

LOW
(4) D - - -
(4) F - - -
(3) O - -
(4) S - - -
(4) L - - -
SHOT

Answers:

Lowdown
Downfall
Fallout
Outside
Sidelong
Longshot

Week of May 6

Games and toys are great tools for family fun, reminiscence and brain boosting! This week's Brain Booster is a logic problem featuring toys. Continue the fun with our Mindful Minutes video about Family Games, and participate in our Weekly Webinar about the new Story Connections program at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures.

Abby, Bob, Cindy and Don went to the toy store to get a new toy. They each bought a different toy. They paid a different price for their items. Work out who bought what toy for what price.

Kids: Abby, Bob, Cindy, Don
Toys: Ball, Jump rope, Paper doll, Book
Prices: $1, $1.50, $2, $2.50

1) A boy bought the ball.
2) Cindy paid with a bill and got less than $3 back.
3) The $1 item was made from paper.
4) The boys only brought $1.75 each.
5) The skipping rope was exactly $1 more than the ball.
6) The book was not $2.
7) Someone with an "n" in their name bought the ball.

Use the grid solver here to help you solve.

If you’d like to check out the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, join us for the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, May 9! We have free museum admission passes to give away – attend the webinar for a chance to win.

For the answers, click here.

Answers:

Abby bought the paper doll for $2

Bob bought the book for $1

Cindy bought the jump rope for $2.50

Don bought the ball for $1.50

Week of April 29

The nose knows!

On last week's Weekly Webinar (see the recording here), Dr. Jennifer Villwock informed us about how smell affects brain health. What a perfect segue into this week's literal Brain Booster!

Close your eyes and try to recreate the following smells. This exercise helps improve your ability to form concrete impressions from memory.

1. A rotten egg
2. Pumpkin pie
3. Wet dog
4. Freshly cut grass
5. A new car

Here's another set of smells:

1. A ripe orange
2. Hot chocolate
3. A rose
4. A skunk
5. Cigar smoke

How well did you do at recreating the smells?

Answers and experiences will vary with this week's Brain Booster; after all, the nose knows!

During her presentation, Dr. Villwock mentioned that sudoku is not her favorite brain booster! But if you like that number puzzle, try some here - options range from easy to extreme! The sudoku site will give you the correct answers.

Answers and experiences will vary with this week's Brain Booster; after all, the nose knows!

Week of April 22

April is National Poetry Month in the United States! In honor of words that paint pictures and arouse aromas, solve these poetic brain boosters:

I am a word of meanings three.
Three ways of spelling me there be.
The first is an odor, a smell if you will.
The second some money, but not in a bill.
The third is past tense, a method of passing things on or around.
Can you tell me now what these words are that have the same sound?

What popular expression is represented here?

rose = rose = rose = rose

Which poet presented it: William Shakespeare, Shel Silverstein, Gertrude Stein or Taylor Swift?

Answers

The three words: scent, cent and sent.

The expression “A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose ” is from the poem “Sacred Emily” by Gertrude Stein. Read the whole thing here.

William Shakespeare’s exact birthdate is not officially known and is often celebrated on April 23 (this week!) around the world – Shakespeare’s Juliet famously said to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Shel Silverstein wrote the short poem with a twist, “Ridiculous Rose”

Taylor Swift, who wrote several songs with roses in the lyrics, released a surprise double album this month: The Tortured Poet’s Department / The Tortured Poet’s Department: The Anthology.

We like to think the MyAlliance for Brain Health newsletter and the brain booster enhance, not torture, your day!

Roses are famously fragrant. Tune in to the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, April 25 at 2:00 pm Central time to learn about the relationship between smell and brain health.

Week of April 15

Last week's brain booster - which we happily heard was a real stumper! - turned out to involve US states. This week, in honor of the MAP study for our Weekly Webinar, we'll continue the theme and color the map. Consider this question:

What is the fewest number of colors you can use to color the states of the USA if no states of the same color can touch? While you think this one through, have a brain-boosting snack made of the rainbow of fruits and vegetables in Today's Tip.

You can see a blank map of the USA here - to solve this problem you can print it and try your hand at coloring. For extra brain boosting, add the names of the states!

Answer:

4 colors.

In fact 4 colors will suffice for any map, real or fabricated. It took more than 100 years for mathematicians to prove this fact.

Read more about the four-color theorem here!

Week of April 8

What is a common thread for the words in the group below, apart from the fact that they are all four letters long?

WINE
LAND
ARKS
DEAL
GAIN
MOOR
SCAR
HIND

Hint: Consider your state of MIND!

Answer:

The words are made up entirely of abbreviations for states in the United States of America.

WI NE = Wisconsin, Nebraska

LA ND = Louisiana, North Dakota

AR KS = Arkansas, Kansas

DE AL = Delaware, Alabama

GA IN = Georgia, Indiana

MO OR = Missouri, Oregon

SC AR = South Carolina, Arkansas

HI ND = Hawaii, North Dakota

Boosted Brain Booster:

Come up with more words that could be in this group! (here are two to get you started: COMA (Colorado, Massachusetts); MINE (Michigan, Nebraska). Keep going!

What US states could never be in this group of 4 letter words? (Texas – TX – comes to mind. What else?)

What words of more than 4 letters could you make using two-letter state abbreviations? Here’s one: ARCADE (Arkansas, California, Delaware)

Week of April 1

Happy April 1 – you subscribe to MyAlliance for Brain Health, so you’re no fool! This week’s brain boosters involve words, numbers and of course, some cleverness.

Figure out the word concealed in the following poem. By selecting the right word or letter you will come up with an appropriate word for each clue.

Find all ten words described below. Hint: Adding one doesn’t necessarily mean adding a number!

The first word you'll need
is a tool used to snare.
Reverse and add one:
a dwelling filled with fresh air.

Append the letter H
to find a metric sort of part.
Now change N to E to get
a smile, at its heart.

Tack on an I N G
to make a baby's cross to bear.
Remove the center two
and find a golfer's action there.

Add an S and drop the Es:
A painful bite you'll see.
Add one to the end: you will make
penny-pinching and miserly.

Put first 2 and last 2 out the door,
What's left is really cool.
Only keep the first half of that
And now you find the fool.

When called to investigate, the police found that a man had died in his apartment. When they looked up where he worked, they discovered that he earned $3000 for every month he worked with 30 or fewer days and $3500 for every month he worked with 31 days. Today is April 1; how much will he earn by the end of December?

Answers:

NET (a tool used to snare)
TENT (a dwelling filled with fresh air)
TENTH (a metric sort of part)
TEETH (a smile, at its heart)
TEETHING (what a baby suffers from -- its cross to bear)
TEEING (a golfer's action)
STING (A painful bite)
STINGY (penny-pinching, miserly)
IN (really cool -- i.e. the in thing)
I (I am the fool, after all! Don’t take it personally!)

$0. He actually won’t earn anything by the end of December – he died on April 1

Week of March 25

On our March 21 Weekly Webinar, retired NASA astrophysicist Dr. David Beier boosted our brains with a series of fun, challenging and often humorous brain games! We're including one of Dr. Beier's brain games for this week's brain booster. Dr. Beier has generously agreed to share his whole presentation with MyAlliance subscribers - if you'd like a copy, send email to myalliance@kumc.edu. Dr. Beier's finger puzzle is incredible!

Here's a fun way to exercise different lobes of your brain. Count the number of times the number 6 appears below. Now count the total number of times a 3 or a 7 appears as you see them. In other words, don’t just count all the 3s and then all the 7s; count both at the same time as you see either one. For example, the number of times a 3 or a 7 appear in this sample - 763537 - is 4 times.

1234467889974674657865876576576
3576573625432657346578436578342
2732188582735827456724687343828
7672878682768723682376783768267
2647648823178346432764876774653
7436574386581483627868653873465

The important thing here is not so much to get the right answer, but to exercise your frontal and parietal lobes by trying!

The frontal lobes help control thinking, planning, organizing, problem-solving, short-term memory and movement. The parietal lobes help identify objects and understand spatial relationships (where one's body is compared with objects around the person).

Answer:

6 appears 33 times, and the total times the numbers 3 and 7 appear is 59 times.

If you’d like a copy of Dr. Beier’s Brain Games presentation, send email to myalliance@kumc.edu.

eek of March 18

Walk this Way!

This week, MyAlliance encourages you to step it up! We're walking the walk with the Brain Booster:

1. If the world is about 25,000 miles in circumference, now long would it take a person walking the average walking rate (do you know what that it is? Hint: it would take 20 minutes to walk one mile) to walk around the world?

2. True or false: Race walking is one of the newest Olympic sports.

3. Put these countries in order of highest to lowest number of average steps a day for a person and indicate how many steps a day someone living in each place walks:

Australia, Japan, Switzerland, United States

Bonus questions: How long was the longest walk around the world? How long did it take? What was the day job of the walker who accomplished this?

Answer:

1. The average walking rate is 3 miles per hour (1 mile = 20 minutes). Therefore, to calculate walking 25,000 miles:

Divide 25,000 (number of miles) by 3 (miles per hour) to get 8,333.333 hours

Then divide 8,333.333 hours by 24 to get 347 days. Of course, this does assume nonstop walking!

2. FALSE – Race walking has been an official Olympic sport for more than 90 years. Watch for competitors race walking anywhere from 1 to 95 miles during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France!

3. Australia – 9,695 steps a day

Switzerland – 9,650 steps a day

Japan – 7,168 steps a day

United States of America – 5,117 steps a day

Source: factretriever.com

For the answers to the bonus questions, tune in to our Weekly Webinar on Thursday, March 21 (or watch the recording afterward)!

Week of March 11

March Madness motivates the mind!

For the excitement of March Madness basketball - let's cross our fingers for victory, not defeat for our favorite team - check out Chunking for this week's brain booster. Take 60 seconds to memorize the colors and positions of the basketballs in the accompanying image. After 60 seconds, put the image out of your sight and see if you can duplicate the location of each basketball on a piece of paper - you can draw the basketball in red or blue, or simply write a B for blue and R for red in the spot where it goes.

How did you do? You'll have your own results to see. For more about chunking and how it boosts the brain, click on the answer link below. If you want more basketball grids (and with Selection Sunday on March 17, lots of us want all the basketball we can get!), send email to myalliance@kumc.edu and we'll dribble you some more!

Answer:

Compare the original image from the MyAlliance newsletter with your 60-seconds-later memory of where the basketballs were.

Chunking is an exercise designed to target executive functioning, specifically planning and inhibition. Think about how you ended up at your final mental plan of locating and identifying where the correct basketballs were.

Chunking refers to memorizing chunks or groups of information rather than remembering individual groups of information. How did you use chunking in this Brain Booster? How could you use chunking in other aspects of your daily life? One way: taking inventory of needed groceries and household goods – chunking could help you remember what you have to buy and what you already have (so, of course, could making a shopping list!).

If you’d like more chunking basketball images to boost your brain during this bouncing, quickly passing month, email myalliance@kumc.edu! Swish – nothing but net!

Week of March 4

This March fourth, take the only date that is also a command - March forth! - and give your brain some forward (fourward?) momentum with this Brain Booster:

The four sentences in Group A share a special feature. If you correctly identify that common feature, you will find that one of the sentences in Group B also has that same feature. What is the feature? What sentence in Group B can be added to Group A?

Group A:
1. A four watt bulb lacks the necessary brightness.
2. The ogre enjoyed eating people.
3. The warming rays of the sun also burn.
4. Wings and halos are for angels.

Group B:
1. Always look before you leap.
2 .Cats and dogs are bitter enemies.
3. Girls just want to have fun.
4. Upon seeing the wise bird, we yell owl!
5. My elephant has fleas.
6. The tiger lives in the jungle.

Answer:

Each of the sentences in Group A contain a color formed by the letters of two consecutive words (bulB LACKs, oGRE ENjoyed, warminG RAYs, fOR ANGEls – BLACK, GREEN, GRAY, ORANGE). The fourth sentence in Group B has that characteristic (YELL OW).

Enjoy this Brain Bow of colors!

Week of February 26

A just-once-every-four-years event happens this Thursday: Leap Day! Of course we here at MyAlliance love to leap all year long, and we encourage you to take part in our upcoming LEAP! programming: the Mediterranean diet and Brain Health Boot Camp courses in March and April.

To keep your brain leaping, see if you can solve this combination (lock) conundrum, which includes the numbers 2 and 9!

Your Leap Day is lucky - you’ve been awarded a lockbox with a prize inside. Determine the combination to open it up.

Figuring out what’s special about these numbers will lead you to the combination.

24 24 22 9 9 9 9 22 24 22 9 9.

Hint: just like Leap Day, these numbers have a Roman connection.

Answer:

Convert these numbers to some of the 26 letters of the English alphabet and you’ll see they correspond to Roman numerals:

24 = X

22 = V

9 = I

Therefore: 24 24 22 9 9 9 9 22 24 22 9 9 = X X V I I I I V X V I I

Spaced so that they are equivalent to Roman numerals, you’ll have XXVIII, IV and XVII

XXVIII = 28

IV = 4

XVII = 17

The combination for the locked box is 28 - 4 - 17. Your prize: a lifetime subscription to MyAlliance – priceless!

The Roman connection? One story says Roman emperor Julius Caesar created the Year of Confusion when he decided that the year 46 B.C. was going to be 445 days long instead of 365 days long. He then made a 365.25-day year—a tiny bit longer than the 365.2422 solar year—that added a leap day every fourth year.

Source: National Geographic Kids

Week of February 19

Double Duty!

This exercise will help build your mental endurance and concentration. Pick any small number (let’s say 3) and start doubling it in your mind.

3, 6, 12. . .
How far can you get without using a calculator? Pen and paper – or even fingers and toes! – are ok to use.

How many doublings does it take to get to 5 digits? 6? 7?

Answers:

3; 6; 12; 24; 48; 96;192; 384; 768; 1536; 3,072; 6,144; 12,288; 24,576; 49,152; 98,304; 196,608; 393,216; 786,432; 1,572,864, 3,145,728

Most people have a hard time once they get past 10 doublings. Practice until you can get up to 20 (the 20th doubling of 3 is 3,145,728).

5 digits = 12 doublings (12,288)

6 digits = 16 doublings (196,608)

7 digits = 20 doublings (3,145,728)

What other interesting patterns can you find? How does doubling look with other start numbers?

To infinity and beyond!

Week of February 12:

Happy Valentine's Day (Wednesday, February 14)! On this special day, we give extra tender loving care to our sweethearts. Give them and your brain lots of love by doing this Brain Booster.

As we go about our daily lives, we are constantly making decisions based on guesses and estimates. This exercise will help you improve your ability to make educated guesses about distance.

When you are estimating each answer, try to pay attention to how you are solving the problem. Are you guessing the whole number or are you trying to calculate it based on smaller guesses? Avoid using a calculator or pen and paper until after you have made your estimate.

Does that Valentine card you selected promise that you love your love to the moon and back? Do you know exactly how far that is in miles?
Do you pledge to keep going and going like the Energizer bunny when you care for your loved one? How many millimeters long is an AA battery?
Writing a love letter to your darling? What's the thickness of a standard #2 pencil in inches?
You'd say your dear heart makes you feel rich, right? How many $100 bills are in a stack six feet tall? How about a stack of $1 bills six feet tall?

Hint: the answers range from smaller than 1 to more than six digits!

Answers:

The moon is 238, 856 miles away, so a trip there and back would be 466,712 miles
An AA battery is 50.4 millimeters (1.98 inches) long.
A standard #1 pencil is 0.29 inches thick.
A new $100 US bill is 0.0043 inches thick. 6 feet is the equivalent of 72 inches (6x12). 72 divided by 0.0043 = 16,744.186. So a 6-foot high stack of $100 bills would include 16,744 bills, with a tiny bit of space left over. That's $1,674,400. This is assuming the bills are brand new because as they get worn through use, they tend to fluff out, making them slightly thicker. Presumably a 6-foot high stack of $1 bills would be about the same height if the bills are approximately the same thickness. Their value, however, would be $16,744 (100 times less!)

Week of February 5

Swift has been a popular name around these parts lately, so for this week's Brain Booster, let's do some Tom Swifty puns. A Tom Swifty is a play on words, also known as a pun.

Tom's sentence is quoted, and the description of the way he is said to speak is a pun. Both meanings of the pun could be true. For example: "I'm working as fast as I can, but the boat is still taking on water," said Tom balefully. Balefully refers to his tone of speaking, and also to his action (bailing).

Choose one of the listed words below to fill each blank in the following sentences:

1. "The bank must not want my money," said Tom ___________.

2. "Camping is fun," said Tom __________.

3. "The inmate escaped jail down a bed-sheet rope," said Tom ___________.

4. "I put out the blazing jack-o-lantern," said Tom __________.

5. "I'm definitely taller since I started taking this strange potion," said Tom __________.

6. "The surgeon removed my left ventricle," said Tom __________.

Your word choices are:
delightedly
unaccountably
gruesomely
intently
condescendingly
half-heartedly

Answers:

unaccountably (un-account)
2. intently (in-tent)
3. condescendingly (con-descending)
4. delightedly (de-lighted)
5. gruesomely (grew-some)
6. half-heartedly (half-hearted)

For more brain boosting, think of your own Tom Swifty sentences, said MyAlliance – they can be tailored swiftly to your liking!

Week of January 29

Sitting ducks: there are two ducks in front of a duck, two ducks behind a duck and a duck in the middle. How many ducks are there?

Hint: consider that there could be more than one correct answer to this one. Having one’s ducks in a row is a good idea!

Answer:

There are three ducks (imagine these are ducks: * * *) – exactly two ducks are in front of the last duck; the first duck has exactly two ducks behind it; one duck is between the other two.

Boost to the Booster: Some quacky thoughts: this one actually could have more than one answer!

The answer of three is correct, and so is five (* * * * * - there are [at least] two ducks in front of the last duck, and the first duck has [at least] two ducks behind it and there is one duck in the middle. You could expand this to 7 ducks or 9 or really any odd number greater than 1. It also sort of works with an even number greater than two, (****) but the duck in the middle fouls it up since there’s not a true middle duck with the same number of ducks in front of it and behind it.

Hey, if you solved this one, you took to it like a duck to water. If not, no worries, let it roll off like water off a duck’s back. Either way, you’re a lucky duck. All puns intended!

Week of January 22, 2024

In each row, change the first letter of the two words to a different letter (the same letter for both) to form two new words. Write the new letter in the blank. What word is formed vertically by the new letters?

Hint: The new words don’t necessarily rhyme with the original ones.

E N D E R _ A N I O N

D E B U T _ P A T I O

N A V E L _ E L A N D

A E R I E _ S L O P E

Answer:

URGE

(new words: under, union; rebut, ratio; gavel, gland; eerie, elope)

Source: 365 Brain Puzzlers (an Official Mensa® Calendar) by Fraser Simpson

Good job satisfying the urge to solve this Mensa® level brain booster! For more, see if you can think of more word pairs and letter changes.

Week of January 15, 2024

Guess that Number

Using the clues below, figure out what the correct number is.

1. 100 is larger than the number.
2. The number is larger than 30.
3. The number is a multiple of 6.
4. The sum of the number’s digits is 9.
5. The digit in the tens place is larger than the digit in the ones place. (example: in the number 913, the 9 is in the hundreds place, 1 is in the tens place and 3 is in the ones place)
6. The difference between number’s digits is 1.

Answer:

The number is 54.

-Clues 1 and 2: The number is less than 100 and larger than 30, so we know it is a number between 31 and 99

-Clue 3: The number is a multiple of 6 (the possibilities are 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, 78, 84, 90 and 96)

-Clue 4: The sum of the digits is 9. Now the possibilities are 36, 54, 72 and 90

-Clue 5: The digit in the tens place is larger than the digit in the ones place. Now the possibilities are 54, 72 and 90.

-Clue 6: The difference between the number’s digits is 1, so the only correct answer is 54 (5-4=1)

Bonus things to consider for brain boosting:

Do you need all six of these clues to figure out the answer?

Do you have to use the clues in the order they are given to arrive at the correct answer?

If you didn’t, would you arrive at the answer faster or slower?

Can you think of another number and another set of clues to arrive at that number?

Week of January 8, 2024

In this new year, one word below has got to go!

Which word below is the odd one out and why?

showed
history
sidewalk
antelope
building
numbest

Answer:

sidewalk

Within all of the other words, there are two words which overlap with each other such that the last letter of the first word is also the first letter of the second word:

shoWed includes shoW and Wed
hiStory includes hiS and Story
antElope includes antE and Elope
builDing includes builD and Ding
numBest includes numB and Best

Speaking of words that must go, have you seen Lake Superior State University’s 2024 list of banished words? Check it out here and see if you agree, or if there are any you would add. In defense of one word on the list, rizz – it’s also Oxford Dictionary’s 2023 word of the year.

Answer:

Sidewalk doesn’t fit the pattern!

Bonus Brain Booster: challenge yourself to think of more words that do fit the pattern. How many can you compile (that’s one!)?

Week of December 18

First, a correction: thanks to you boosted brains who noticed the error in the December 11, 2023 Brain Booster. XIBT in the first word of the clue should have been XIBU.

Apologies for that slip of the finger – it’s heartening to know you’re paying great attention as you solve these!

This week’s puzzle (triple checked for accuracy!):

Look at the below set of words and cross off each set of words that are described. When you are finished, read the words that you have NOT crossed off. Go from left to right and top to bottom to find the answer to this riddle:

Where do you mail bread?

RAINY	AT	FINE	NEWSPAPER
MAGAZINE	JEANS	TAXI	TURTLE
MILK	BOOK	JUICE	THE
DINE	TOAST	FROG	NEXT
LIZARD	LINE	OFFICE	SUNNY
SHIRT	CLOUDY	NINE	COAT

Cross off

3 things to wear
2 things to drink
4 words that rhyme with MINE
2 words that have the letter X in them
3 green creatures
3 things to read
3 weather words

Answers

Where do you wear bread? At the toast office!

3 things to wear: JEANS, SHIRT, COAT

2 things to drink: MILK, JUICE

4 words that rhyme with MINE: FINE, DINE, LINE, NINE

2 words that have an X in them: TAXI, NEXT

3 green creatures: TURTLE, FROG, LIZARD

3 things to read: NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE, BOOK

3 weather words: RAINY, SUNNY, CLOUDY

Week of December 11

Change each letter in the puzzle below to a different one to reveal a riddle and its answer.

XIBT EP CFFT MJLF UP DIFX?

CVNCMF HVN.

Hints: Alphabetical order matters, and while the letter A does appear in the answer, it’s not in the puzzle. What each letter stands for will be the same throughout the puzzle.

Answers

Change each letter to the one that comes right before it in the alphabet. So XIBU = WHAT

What do bees like to chew?

Bumble gum.

Week of December 4

Don’t put your brain in Jeopardy! Put your money where your mouth is (and join us for the 12/7 Weekly Webinar on oral care)! Provide the questions for these answers from a Jeopardy! category called Tricky Questions (11/17/2023 episode):

$200 – Just before Mount Everest was discovered, this was the highest mountain in the world.

$400 – If you enter a room with a matchbook and a candle, oil lamp and heater are in the room, this is what you’d light first.

$600 – It’s the 11-letter word all Canadians pronounce incorrectly.

$800 – If a British farmer has 22 sheep and all but 9 die in a tragic shearing incident, this is how many sheep the farmer has left.

$1000 – It’s the main reason in Kansas that a man can’t marry his widow’s sister.

Answers

$200 – What is Mount Everest?

$400 – What is the match?

$600 – What is “incorrectly”?

$800 – What is 9?

$1000 – What is he’s dead?

How’d you do – are you the next Jeopardy! champion?

Week of Novmeber 27

Check out the photo identification quiz here.

You will see a picture with only a small piece revealed. Can you identify the object in the photo?

Answers

Photos and answers will vary – the quiz site offers hints, and you get two tries before the site reveals the answer. Play as many times as you like, and your eyes and brain will get a good workout!

Week of Novmeber 13

Detect the Pattern

Looking at these numbers:

1=3

4=4

8=5

12=6

1. Which set of numbers matches the pattern?

17=7
13=8
14=7

2. Which number comes next in this group?

11, 69, 88

3. What number comes next in this group?

8723, 3872, 2387

3278
7238
8327

As you come up with the correct answers, make sure you show your work – explain how you got there!

Answers

b. 13=8 (thirteen has eight letters; 1 has 3; 4 has four; 8 has five and 12 has six)
a. 101 (all four numbers the same right side up and upside down)
b. 7238 (to continue the pattern, move the last number to the front)

Week of Novmeber 6

Letter perfect – boost your brain with these puzzles starring letters (including, of course, the letter Y – Why? We invite you to watch our film Thursday, November 9 on the Weekly Webinar)

Why do these letters sound familiar? B M = 2 A B P, S S, L, C, P, O on a S S B

Hint: It’s a jingle for something that might make you say, “I’m lovin’ it!”

An interview was conducted to test the structure, usage and competence of the letters in the English alphabet. To do this, each letter was interviewed for one hour in sequence and the interview was expected to take a whole day. Letter A was the first, then B, C, D, etc., until letter X, which rounded off the interview. Why were the letters Y and Z left out?

Bonus question (for fun, brainstorming and creativity!): Starting with the word Why, what would the rest of the title of a movie about your life be?

Answers

B M = 2 A B P, S S, L, C, P, O on a S S B stands for Big Mac = 2 all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun

Bet you’re singing along! Check out this vintage McDonald’s commercial featuring the jingle.

There are 24 hours in a day and 26 letters in the English alphabet. Each letter is allotted one hour. Therefore, letters Y and Z could not be interviewed; once 24 hours had passed, the interviewers could only complete interviews up to the letter X. Y is the 25^th letter of the alphabet, and Z is the 26^th. Don’t leave Y out of your life – join us Thursday, November 9 for a showing of Why on our weekly webinar, followed by a discussion of the film

Bonus question – answers will vary! Answer for Kelly G. Loeb, MSW, Community Engagement Coordinator: Why I Always Include the G (Reason: it’s in honor and memory of my grandmother Grace, who had Alzheimer’s disease.)

Week of October 30

Feeling inspired by today's tip? Working on each week's Brain Booster is a great hobby! This week, try your hand at figuring out 7 Little Words.

How to Play:

Find 7 words to match 7 clues

Find the 7 words in any order.

Use each letter set only once.

Example -

If the clue is deep fried treats, the letter combination for the answer is

DO + NU + TS = DONUTS

Clues:

1. bosses

2. Wisconsin baseball team

3. holey cheese

4. relaxing

5. sets in a location

6. made a call to

7. core of the matter

Letter sets:

TEL NGI ISS ING

SW ED UX CES

EW HON ER EP

SUP ERS ORS VIS

LOU PLA BR CR

Play more 7 Little Words puzzles here

Answers

Bosses = Supervisors
Wisconsin Baseball Team = Brewers
Holey cheese = Swiss
Relaxing = Lounging
Sets in a location = Places
Made a call to = Telephoned
Core of the Matter = Crux

Week of October 23

This week's webinar is alive with The Sound of Music! Join us on Thursday to hear Dr. Rebecca Lepping tell us about the benefits of music for people living with dementia.

This week's Brain Booster - one of our favorite things - is inspired by The Sound of Music. You may not know how to solve a problem like Maria, but you can answer these!

1. What letter comes next in the following sequence?

D R M F S L T _

2. A family (large like the Von Trapp family) has two parents and six sons. Each of the sons has one sister. How many people are in the family?

3. Captain Von Trapp often tells his children to quit doing things. Keeping that in mind, which word logically comes next in this sequence?

Spot, Tops, Pots, Opts, ____

Answers

1. D for Do

The sequence is Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do

Bonus: Can you sing the lyrics Maria uses to teach the Von Trapp children to sing?

Do (doe), a deer, a female deer

Re (ray), a drop of golden sun

Mi (me), a name I call myself

Fa (far), a long, long way to run

So (sew), a needle pulling thread

La, a note to follow So

Ti (tea), a drink with jam and bread

That will bring us back to Do!

2. There are nine people in this family: two parents, six sons, and one daughter!

3. STOP. All the words are anagrams of each other. Captain Von Trap frequently tells his children to stop singing, stop playing, stop laughing. Maria and the children eventually win him over!

Week of October 16

This week’s webinar will address driving, dementia, and strategies for keeping everyone safe. Try out the brain-boosting driving dilemma and logic problem at

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/04/can-you-solve-it-this-traffic-teaser-will-drive-you-to-distraction

Don’t let it drive you crazy!

Answers

Akira 5, Basho 1, Chie 4, Daichi 2 and Etsu 3.

The steps for solving this one are included in detail in the article. Did you go the extra mile or put on the brakes?

Week of October 9

This week's tip talks about making connections between fruits and vegetable. Our brain booster encourages you to make connections between words.

Using a of words, create four groups of four words that have one thing in common:

Example:

fire trucks, apples, stop signs, ketchup

The four things above are all red!

Here's a list of 16 words:

Water, Afghan, Converse, Jabber, Speech, Angora, Lead, Chat, Jordan, Alpaca, Trial, Yak, Vans, Blather, Puma, Gab

Hints:

Some words have more than one pronunciation, and that can change their meeting

Categories will always be more specific than names or 5-letter words or verbs.

Each puzzle has exactly one solution. Watch out for words that seem to belong to multiple categories!

If you enjoyed this brain booster, you can solve more like it - there's a new Connections word puzzle daily in the New York Times.

Answers

Afghan, Alpaca, Angora, Yak = long-haired animals

Converse, Jordan, Puma, Vans = sneaker brands

Blather, Chat, Gab, Jabber = ways of talking

Lead, Speech, Trial, Water = types of balloons

Week of October 2

"I wish that every day was Saturday and every month was October." - Charmaine J. Forde.

At the KU ADRC, we really like Mondays, when we deliver your MyAlliance newsletter! Thursdays are great too, when we gather for the Weekly Webinar. We think Charmaine J. Forde, author, poet and singer, is right on about Saturdays and October too!

Boost your brain by answering these questions about October:

Six US Presidents were born in October, more than in any other month. How many can you name?

One of the six US Presidents born in October is from our area - who is he? (Bonus: there's another US president from across the state line - who is he and when was he born?)
Live long and prosper - more people in this age group are born in fall (including October) than in any other season. What age are they?

Answers

1. The six US Presidents born in October are

John Adams
Rutherford Hayes
Chester Arthur
Theodore Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower
Jimmy Carter

2. Dwight Eisenhower, from Abilene, Kansas. Bonus answer: Harry S Truman, born May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri.

3. 100+ - they are centenarians!

Week of September 18

Today's tip prompts you to check out some new music. This week's Brain Booster shows you that the oldies but goodies get your toes tapping too! Belt out the lyrics to the songs below and earn a point for each one whose artist and singer you can name. Extra points if you sing the choruses too!

1. Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you've got to do is call

And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah

2. But what it is

Is something true

Made up of these three words

That I must say to you

3. Let us realize

That a change can only come

When we stand together as one

(By the way, all of us at the KU ADRC dedicate these songs to all of you!)

Answers

You’ve Got a Friend by James Taylor (by the time you read this, fall will be just days away!)
I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder (we feel this way on World Alzheimer’s Day and always)
We are the World by USA for Africa (as other lyrics in the song say, we are the ones who make a brighter day – and we are working on empowering the whole world with good brain health!)

Week of September 11

This week’s puzzle calls upon your vocabulary, spelling, strategy and logic skills, plus a dose of patience! Here is a group of 20 common three-letter words. Take these 20 words and turn them into 10 six-letter words.

Each three-letter word is used only once.

Word List:

act, age, bed, can, cat, cud, dam, did, don, dot, for, gel, get, ion, lam, nap, out, par, pen, rag

Hint 1: Saying the words out loud can help you combine the words.

Hint 2: One word is the opposite of remember.

Bonus: What additional words can you make, using some of the three-letter words more than once?

Answers

action
bedlam
candid
catnap
cudgel
dampen
dotage
forget (the opposite of remember)
pardon
ragout

Bonus words:

cation
damage
forage
outact
outage
outdid

Did you find any others? Did you notice that age combines with the most words?

Week of September 4

Happy September! This new month brings a new season – autumn, with its cooler temperatures, colorful trees and chances to celebrate our team spirit.

For this week’s Brain Boosters, we’re bringing you some new fun facts and dates to remember:

1. Which one is not happening in September?

1. Read a New Book Month
2. International Square Dancing Month
3. National Piano Month
4. National Pizza Month

2. Elephants are said to have good memories. What other animal also has exceptional recall? Hints: it’s usually green, can grow to as long as 6 feet, and, in some varieties, has three eyes?

3. True or false: National Be Late for Something Day and Fight Procrastination Day are the same day.

Answers

D) National Pizza Month is actually in October – a treat to go along with Halloween tricks!

The iguana! Since 1998, National Iguana Day is observed on Friday, September 8. The iguana’s good memory is essential for its survival in the wild, including remembering where to find food and water and the location of their mate and offspring. Their intelligence helps them be good problem solvers. Source: https://biobubblepets.com/3-reasons-why-iguanas-have-an-amazing-memory/

False. National Be Late for Something Day is September 5 and Fight Procrastination Day is September 6. Whether you celebrate one, both or neither, don’t be late for or procrastinate attending our Weekly Webinar on Thursday, September 7 – see details in this issue of MyAlliance Monday!

Week of August 28

Brain Booster

This week we get to ask the expert! Dr. Russell Swerdlow, director of the KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, will take your questions about brain health, dementia diagnosis, prevention and treatment and clinical trials on the August 31 session of our Weekly Webinar.

Not only will Dr. Swerdlow’s answers to our questions enrich our cognition, this week’s Brain Boosters are a great way to pump things up.

Part 1: Try your hand (and your mind) at figuring out what item is the answer to these 20 clues describe. How many clues will you use?

I am in every city and town.
You can join my club.
I am sometimes found on the corner.
I sometimes have a healthy theme.
I have checkers, but no chess.
I am full of vitamins and minerals.
With me it’s always in the bag.
My diapers are always clean.
I usually have my own parking.
I can be open 24 hours a day.
I’m not a bar, but I offer plenty to drink.
I’m not a link, but I can be part of a chain.
Everything registers with me.
My sales have nothing to do with sailing.
I don’t produce produce, but I have plenty of it.
In 2020, I was considered an essential business.
You can check yourself out here.
Mr. Hooper owns one of my kind.
My meat can be fresh, frozen or canned.
I honor coupons.

Part 2: See if you can stump 20Q! This site - http://www.20q.net/ - invites you to play 20 Questions by thinking of an object, and it will attempt to figure out what’s on your mind within 20 questions.

Part 3: Send in your questions for Dr. Swerdlow’s Ask the Expert webinar to myalliance@kumc.edu. We will keep the questions anonymous. Tune in to the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, August 31 at 2:00 pm Central to hear the answers!

Answers

Part 1: I am a grocery store!

Part 2: Answers will vary – were you able to stump the site?

Part 3: Hear Dr. Swerdlow’s answers to your questions on the Weekly Webinar on August 31!

Week of August 21

Brain Booster:

In August 1988 - 35 years ago - then-President Ronald Reagan proclaimed August 21 to be National Senior Citizens Day! You may not have been a senior then (or now), but we can all honor older adults for the expertise, perspective and care they share.

In honor of this special day - and ahead of our weekly webinar on honorable aging - boost your brain by answering these questions:

1) What age do you have to be to be a senior/older adult?

a) 50
b) 55
c) 60
d) 62
e) 65
f) 15 years older than you currently are
g) Any or all of the above

2) What age did the oldest person to have ever lived reach?

3) True or false: dementia is a normal part of aging.

Bonus question: what are some tips for healthy aging?

Answers:

g: any or all of the above! At age 50, you can join AARP and receive discounts, services and other benefits; at 55, many retailers offer senior discounts. Once you’re age 60, the federal Older Americans Act (https://ncoa.org/advocates/public-policy/issues/aging-services/older-americans-act) means you can receive supportive services like home-delivered meals, in-home care, caregiver support, job training and more. Social Security retirement benefits can begin at age 62 (some people may choose to delay them in order to eventually receive more money). Medicare eligibility starts at 65 for most people. And if none of these resonate with you, you can designate any year you like!
Jeanne Louise Calment is the oldest verified person to have ever lived. The Frenchwoman lived to be 122 years and 164 days old. She was born on February 21, 1875 and passed away at age 122 on August 4, 1997.
False. Dementia (of the Alzheimer or any other type) is not a normal part of aging.

Bonus question: Join our weekly webinar on Thursday, August 24 to hear from Dr. Jaime Perales Puchalt about honorable aging, check out our LEAP! programming and stay tuned to MyAlliance for Brain Health to receive tips for healthy aging.

Week of August 14

Brain Booster:

In recognition of our upcoming Why showings, boost your brain by figuring out which of these Y words is the correct one. If you get it, you’re a real wise guy!

Casey is used to multiple spellings of her name (Kaci, Kaycee, and of course KC!). She makes sure to be sincere as she very carefully spells it out: "C for chaos, A for arpeggio, S for scenery, E for empty, Y for ____."

Which of the following words is she most likely to select to help with Y?

Young
Youth
Yacht
Yikes
Yahoo

Answer:

Youth

All of Casey’s choices of helpful words sound as if they begin with another letter - K-os, R-peggio, C-nery, M-pty ... and so, U-th!

A word to the wise: join us for an upcoming screening of Why and for our August 17 webinar featuring the KU School of Medicine Center for Clinical Research, co-sponsor of our Wichita Why screening!

Week of August 7

Memory is a great artist. - Andre Maurois

It's rhyme time! Find a rhyme for each word below so you end up with a familiar three-word phrase in the form __, __, [and] __.

Example:
Clue = Cook, Wine, Drinker
Answer = Hook, Line, and Sinker

1. Won, Dune, Cars (hint: look up)
2. Wed, Night, Two (hint: find a flag)
3. Wraith, Soap, Clarity (hint: three good things)
4. Steak, Cattle, Sole (hint: feel the earth move)
5. Find, Field, Shivered (hint: stamped, too)
6. Blast, Pheasant, Suture (time flies)

Boost your brain even more - come up with additional rhyming phrases!

Bonus booster: at least three of these are also the titles of classic songs – do you know which?

Answers:

Sun, Moon and Stars
Red, White and Blue
Faith, Hope and Charity (bonus booster: this is also the title of a song recorded by Don Cornell in the 1950s…perhaps by others too!)
Shake, Rattle and Roll (bonus booster: several versions of this song move us, including recordings by Elvis Presley, Big Joe Turner and Bill Haley and His Comets)
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (bonus booster: a Stevie Wonder classic…and this newsletter is signed, sealed, delivered: it’s yours!)
Past, Present and Future

Week of July 31

Memory is a great artist. - Andre Maurois

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. - Georgia O'Keefe

August is for art! As we move into a new month, we're exploring the power of art to move our minds, hearts and souls. This week's brain booster draws on art - answer these riddles:

I am a kind of coat that can only be put on when wet. What am I?
How do you inspire an artist?
What do you call an artist who sculpts with bicycle parts?

Answers:

Paint
Easel-y
CYCLE-angelo

Week of July 24

It's game time! This week's Mindful Minutes video talks about family games and how they can be marvelously meaningful for together time. The next session of our Family Series (Thursdays, July 27 and August 3 from 4:00 to 5:30 at the KU Clinical Research Center, 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205) addresses activities and suggestions for engagement (including board games!) with a person experiencing cognitive change.

In keeping with this theme, boost your brain by taking this board game trivia quiz - it promises you won't be board out of your mind, and it'll give you some fun memories and motivation for games to play.

Answer:
Answers are immediately below each question on the trivia quiz website. Which board game is your favorite?

Week of July 17

This week we’re watching wise words! Our Mindful Minutes video talks about why words matter and therapeutic shifts in communication for care partners. The next session of our Family Series (Thursdays, July 20 and 27 and August 3 from 4:00 to 5:30 at the KU Clinical Research Center, 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205) addresses behavior in and communication with a person experiencing cognitive change.

In keeping with this theme, boost your brain by seeing how many wonderful words of 2 to 11 letters you can make using the letters

C O M M U N I C A T I O N

Answer:

Answers will vary! This website (https://wordfinder.yourdictionary.com/unscramble/communication/) will show you 360 words using those letters. How many did you think of?

Week of July 10

Let's have some fun with serious series! To highlight our upcoming Family Series for Family Caregivers, boost your brain by putting these things in the correct order:

Arrange these Roman numerals in order of value, from smallest to largest: C, D, L, M
Put these states in order of area, from largest to smallest: California, Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma
List these inventions in order, from earliest to latest: diesel engine, hovercraft, battery, jeans

Bonus: in which order will our Family Series Topics be?

Why is He Acting this Way?

Help Me Understand

How Do I Keep Doing This?

She Just Sits Around All Day

Answers:

L – 50, C – 100, D – 500, M – 1,000
California (158,648 square miles), Montana (147,047 square miles), Oklahoma (69,903 square miles), Georgia (58,390 square miles)
Battery (1799), Jeans (1850), Diesel Engine (1892), Hovercraft (1955)
Bonus – Help Me Understand, Why Is He Acting This Way, She Just Sits Around All Day, How Do I Keep Doing This?

Join us for the Family Series on Thursdays, July 13, 20 and 27 and August 3! Attend any or all of the sessions, which will be held at 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205.

Week of July 3:

This week we’re focusing on food, glorious food! Boost your brain (and stimulate your appetite?) with this logic puzzle about the most important meal of the day – breakfast.

Five roommates eat breakfast at different times in the morning; each with their own breakfast preferences. Using the clues, match the roommate to the weekday they ate their preferred breakfast food, and at what time.

Clues:

Charles recently started a high-protein diet at the beginning of his three-day weekend.
The last person to eat breakfast in the morning is either Daniel or the person who eats French toast.
Brittany didn’t even have time for her English muffin on Wednesday or Thursday.
The cereal was eaten Tuesday morning.
Charles ate a half-hour before Brittany.
Daniel likes to make his special breakfast in the middle of the week.
The pancakes were eaten at the latest time of the morning.
Adam only has time for a bowl of cereal as he has an early class and must leave before everyone else.
Eva likes to eat breakfast in the middle of the morning.

There’s a handy grid for solving this puzzle (and some instructions for doing so) here: https://www.ahapuzzles.com/logic/logic-puzzles/most-important-meal-of-the-day/

You can also download a PDF to print to solve on paper.

Pro tip: after solving the brain booster, join us for a cooking demonstration highlighting the Therapeutic Diets in Alzheimer’s Disease study, hosted by Jessica Keller, MS, RDN, LD, on Friday, July 7 at 1:00 pm at the KU ADRC Clinical Research Center, 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS. Register to attend here (seating is limited): https://bit.ly/kuadrc_tdad.

Can’t make it then? Watch a video of a previous cooking demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9DE3q8lwKM

Brain Booster Answer:

Adam ate cereal at 7:00 am on Tuesday

Brittany ate an English muffin at 7:45 am on Monday

Charles ate scrambled eggs at 7:15 am on Friday

Daniel ate pancakes at 8:00 am on Wednesday

Eva ate French toast at 7:30 am on Thursday

Let's have some fun with serious series! To highlight our upcoming Family Series for Family Caregivers, boost your brain by putting these things in the correct order:

Arrange these Roman numerals in order of value, from smallest to largest: C, D, L, M
Put these states in order of area, from largest to smallest: California, Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma
List these inventions in order, from earliest to latest: diesel engine, hovercraft, battery, jeans

Bonus: in which order will our Family Series Topics be?

Why is He Acting this Way?

Help Me Understand

How Do I Keep Doing This?

She Just Sits Around All Day

Brain Booster Answers:

L – 50, C – 100, D – 500, M – 1,000
California (158,648 square miles), Montana (147,047 square miles), Oklahoma (69,903 square miles), Georgia (58,390 square miles)
Battery (1799), Jeans (1850), Diesel Engine (1892), Hovercraft (1955)
Bonus – Help Me Understand, Why Is He Acting This Way, She Just Sits Around All Day, How Do I Keep Doing This?

Join us for the Family Series on Thursdays, July 13, 20 and 27 and August 3! Attend any or all of the sessions, which will be held at 4350 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205.

Week of June 26:

Happy Summer! Last Wednesday, June 21 marked the longest day of the year and the summer solstice. Summer days can be sunshiny, long and hot. Cool your brain with these brain boosters about some of the longest things in the world:

What is the longest river in the world?

What is the longest animal in the world?

What is the longest word in the English language?

What is the longest book in the world?

What is the longest officially released song in the world?

Don't short yourself - click here for the answers!

Answer:

Longest river: The Nile (4,157 miles / 6,690 kilometers)

Longest animal: the Blue Whale (98 feet / 29.9 meters)

Longest English word: pneumoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters); it’s a disease, more commonly known as silicosis, that results from breathing in volcano dust

Longest book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu (The Remembrance of Things Past, in English) by Marcel Proust (1.3 million words, 2400 pages)

Longest officially released song: “Shri Ram Charit Manas” by Dr. Jagadeesh Pillai of India (138 hours, 41 minutes, 20 seconds; certified by the Guinness Book of World Records on April 12, 2023)

Week of June 19:

You've been inspired! After participating in this week's Weekly Webinar (and watching some of our other recordings about exercise, fitness and brain health), you might consider getting a book about physical activity from the library or bookstore. But if you see a book with How to Jog printed on its spine, you actually shouldn’t check it out. Why not?

Answer:

How to Jog is an encyclopedia volume (remember those?)! It simply carries entries of words that begin with How to words that begin with Jog. For the best brain health benefits and boosters, definitely keep reading the MyAlliance newsletter each week for lots of great tips on fitness, food and finding about advances in research.

Week of June 12:

Is it a hit or a myth?

Decide if the following statements are true or false:

You are born with all the neurons your brain will ever have.
You cannot learn new things when you are old, also described as “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Dementia is an inevitable consequence of old age.

For some hints on what’s right and wrong (and more on how to engage your brain), read the article linked in today’s tip: Engage Your Brain GCBH Recommendations on Cognitively Stimulating Activities doi.org.10.26419%2Fpia.00001.001 (aarp.org)

Answer:

They’re all false – these myths are misses! See the Global Council on Brain Health article here: Engage Your Brain GCBH Recommendations on Cognitively Stimulating Activities doi.org.10.26419%2Fpia.00001.001 (aarp.org) for more information.

Week of June 5:

June is here - give your brain a jump start with this brain booster:

In the following list, the words are out of order (the correct order is NOT alphabetical). Can you figure out the pattern and put them in the proper order?

A. Leaf
B. Part
C. Mitt
D. Corn
E. Saw

Bonus Booster: Once you figure out the answers, can you think of more words that would fit this pattern?

Answer:

The words, when combined with the placement letter, form new words.

A. Corn (Acorn)
B. Leaf (Belief)
C. Saw (See-Saw)
D. Part (Depart)
E. Mitt (Emit)

Bonus Booster Answers: Once you figure out the answers, can you think of more words that would fit this pattern?

Here’s what Weekly Webinar Host Kelly G. Loeb came up with:

Fort (Effort)
Con (Icon)
Hawk (obviously, JAYHAWK, of course!)
Bull (Cable)
Bow (Elbow)

Note: G and H stumped Kelly – did you think of one for those? Or other letters of the alphabet?

Week of May 22:

Monday, May 29 marks Memorial Day, a time we remember and honor our loved ones - especially those who served our country. This week's Brain Booster focuses on memories in music (which is known to be a boon to brain health). Name the crooners who belted out these harmonious hits!

The Way We Were

I Will Remember You

Reflections

Dance with My Father

In My Life

Remember the Time

Bonus Booster: Think of more songs about memories. What are your favorites? Turn up your radio or streaming service, put the needle on a 45, pop in a cassette, spin a CD or grab a karaoke mic and sing along!

Answer:

Barbra Streisand

Sarah McLachlan

The Supremes

Luther Vandross

The Beatles

Michael Jackson

Bonus: The possibilities are endless – enjoy the tunes!

Week of May 22:

This week we’re giving you tips on advocating for yourself and a loved one, and speaking up for what you need. Our brain boosters will have you thinking about speaking – raise your voice and give them a try!

A worker went into the office one day and spoke only Italian. Everyone could understand what the worker was saying and didn’t have any problems understanding. It was a perfectly normal day. How? Why?

I have no voice, yet I speak to you,

I tell of all things in the world that people do.

I have leaves, but I am not a tree.

I have a spine and hinges, but I am not a human or door

I have told you all – I cannot tell you more.

What am I?

Two speakers are on an upcoming schedule. Using the list of presenters below, identify which of them will talk today and which tomorrow.

Hint: the answer is a common idiom.

Today’s Speakers:

Professor Present
Representative Right
Honorable Here

Tomorrow’s Speakers:

Lecturer Later
General Gone
Faculty Future

Answer:

The worker was in Italy!

A book

Honorable Here and General Gone – Here today and gone tomorrow!

Week of May 15:

Prepare to be a-MAZEd by this week's Brain Booster! To align with our Weekly Webinar about Seeking Clarity in the Labyrinth, this week's challenge is to find your way through a maze.

This website has lots of mazes from easy to hard - you can do them on your device or print them and use a pen or pencil. If you do one on your device, the website will tell you how much time you took and how many steps you made. On one practice run of a medium-level maze for the MyAlliance team, it took 79 seconds and 170 steps. How will you do?

Do you know the difference between a maze and a labyrinth?

Answers:

Solutions to the maze you choose to do will vary depending on which maze you pick and which path(s) you take. Enjoy challenging and boosting your brain!

LABYRINTHS ARE UNICURSAL*, WHILE MAZES ARE BRANCHING.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, mazes and labyrinths have slightly different definitions. Officially, the word maze refers to a collection of branching paths, through which the traveler must find the correct route. Labyrinth, meanwhile, refers to a pathway which, while winding and potentially disorienting, is non-branching, and leads directly to its endpoint.

*Unicursal describes something that has a single continuous path or line.

Source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/70964/15-intricate-facts-about-mazes

Week of May 8:

Brain Booster:

As a nod to our Weekly Webinar on physical exercise and brain health, and our research study COMET, which focuses on exercise, this week's Brain Booster questions are math challenges that are out of this world:

1) Halley's comet was last seen from Earth 37 years ago in 1986. When can we expect it to see it from earth again?

2) What is the pattern for these numbers?

31, 59, 90, 120, 151, 181, 212, 243, 273, 304, 334, 365

(Hint: a calendar will be helpful!)

Bonus question: in what other years was Halley’s comet visible from earth? We hope you’ll comet to tuning in to the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, May 11 for the answer!

Answers:

According to Caltech.edu, Halley’s comet will next appear in the night sky in 2062. It orbits the sun every 75 to 76 years.
The pattern is every month, starting from January going to December. The numbers are the number of days in each month, and each time the pattern goes on, that number is added to the total. Here are the months’ number of days in order from January to December:

31
28
31
30
31
30
31
31
30
31
30
31

(31+28 = 59; 59 +31 = 90; 90+ 30= 120; and so on)

Bonus question answer: watch the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, May 11 to find out when else Earthlings have seen Halley’s comet!

Week of May 1:

Mayday! May Day! As we start a brand new month, you may have questions and concerns about sleep – how much is enough, how can you improve your sleep and what impact does sleep have on brain health? Check out and answer these brain boosting questions, then join us for the Weekly Webinar on sleep on Thursday, May 4 – may the fourth and the force of good sleep hygiene be with you!

How many times a day is your body programmed to feel sleepy?

What percentage of your sleeping hours are spent dreaming?

5 to 10%
20 to 25%
50%
75%

11-13 hours of sleep per night is the optimal amount of sleep for which age group?

Preschoolers
Elementary schoolers
Adolescents
Adults

Answers:

C) 2 – Humans have two natural periods of sleepiness during a 24-hour day, no matter how much sleep we’ve had in the previous 24 hours. These periods are generally between 12:00 am and 7:00 am and 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm
B) 20 to 25%. On average, we spend about 2 hours dreaming each night, or 20 to 25% of a night’s sleep. Some researchers think dreams are merely a byproduct of sleep, and others believe dreams are important for mood regulation, problem-solving and stress reduction.
A) Preschoolers. Most adults sleep 7 to 9 hours a night.

Bonus Question: Set your alarm for 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 4 and join us for the Weekly Webinar and the answer to this question!

Source: WebMD.com

Week of April 24:

Boosting your brain can help you with aging gracefully. Tackle tic tac toe using numbers instead of X and O.

Arrange the numbers 1 through 9 on a tic tac toe board such that the numbers in each row, column and diagonal add up to 15.

HINT: A Kansas City area code will help you put three of the numbers in the correct order!

Answer:

4 3 8

9 5 1

2 7 6

(notice the 816 on the right vertical column!)

Week of April 17:

April is Volunteer Month! Besides joining us for the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, April 20 – a conversation with Paige Harding, Miss Kansas Volunteer, whose platform is Alzheimer’s disease – boost your brain by making as many (English) words as possible using the letters V O L U N T E E R.

Answers:

There are 230 English words possible using the letters V O L U N T E E R.

How many did you get? This website lists them all.

Week of April 10:

Sleep is the subject for this week, including some brain-boosting questions and the topic for our Weekly Webinar on Thursday, April 13.

Do you know the answers to these slumber stumpers?

What common household appliance decreased the number of people who dream in black and white?
Is it possible to sneeze in your sleep?
True or false: humans are the only mammals that can delay sleep.
Bonus question: which of these animals sleeps the most: a koala, an elephant, or a giraffe? (Tune in to the Weekly Webinar on Thursday, April 13 for the answer).

Answers:

The color television! Before color televisions started to arrive in U.S. homes in the 1950s, as many as 75% of people reported dreaming in black and white! These days, that number is about 12%.
No! Read more here: https://www.healthline.com/health/can-you-sneeze-in-your-sleep#how-sleep-affects-sneezing
True! Humans are able to keep themselves awake even when their bodies are telling them it is time to go to sleep. All other mammals have to go to sleep when their bodies feel the need.
Bonus question: join our Weekly Webinar on Thursday, April 13 for the answer!

Week of April 3:

Look closely to answer this week’s Brain Booster: what is represented by the following?

HANY
HAEY
HAEY
HADY
HALY
HAEY

Answer:

A needle in a haystack

HANY
HAEY
HAEY
HADY
HALY
HAEY

NEEDLE is in a stack of HAY.

Week of March 27:

Since 1933, March 30 of every year is designated as Doctors' Day, an opportunity for patients to show appreciation for physicians and the care they provide.

Besides boosting your brain, uplift your doctor by sending a thank you note!

Now, answer this brain booster. Which of the following is true about doctors?

A) A doctor first used anesthesia in surgery in 1842.

B) Doctors' Day is a legal holiday in the United States.

C) There are an estimated 700,000 doctors in the United States.

D) All of the above.

Answer:

D) All of the above!

Week of March 20:

Follow these steps and see if you can figure this out. Hint: read the directions thoroughly before starting!

1) Get a brown cardboard box.
2) Get purple, orange and turquoise paints.
3) Paint the box orange.
4) Paint on purple spots.
5) Paint on turquoise stripes.
7) Turn the box upside down.
8) Lie on your side.

What is missing from this sequence?

Answer:

Step 6!

Week of March 13:

This weekend we moved our clocks ahead one hour to spring forward into Daylight Saving Time. Boost your brain by determining if these statements are true or false:

True or False? Two US states do not observe Daylight Saving time.
True or False? Daylight Saving Time begins at the stroke of midnight on the appointed day.
True or False? Farmers and department stores find great benefits in Daylight Saving Time.

Answers:

True – Hawaii and (parts of) Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
False – Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am local time – the idea is that most people will still be at home or even asleep for the night and most businesses will be closed.
False – While department stores have found that more daylight is good for business because more people go shopping, farmers opposed it from the beginning because it wreaks havoc with their schedules, they have to wait for the dew to evaporate off the hay in the morning, regardless of what time it is, and it throws the cows off!

Week of March 6:

A 3-letter word has been taken out of each of the following words. Can you figure it out?

_ _ _ AND

B_ _ _ Y

SI _ _ _ A

F _ _ _ ET

Answer: ERR

ERRAND

BERRY

SIERRA

FERRET

Week of February 27:

Tuesday, February 28 is National Science Day! Take on these Brain Boosters in honor of this momentous occasion:

Question:

If bananas were to have a chemical formula, what would it be?
What number do nickel and neon make when they're combined?
You will find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?

Answer:

BaNa²
NiNe (9)
The letter R

Week of February 20:

Question:

During which month do people sleep the least?

Answer:

this one – February (it’s the shortest month!)

Question:

Four cars come to a four-way stop, all coming from a different direction. They can’t decide who got there first, so they all go forward at the same time. They do not crash into each other, but all four cars go. How is this possible?

Answer:

All of the cars made right turns.

Question:

You’re in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first?

Answer:

The match.

Week of February 13:

What did the volcanos say to each other on Valentine’s Day?
Why are artichokes such a loving vegetable?
Every student in a second-grade class sends a Valentine to each of the other students in the class, for a total of 306 valentines. How many students are in the class?

Answer:

I LAVA you!
Because they have hearts!
18 (Each student sends a Valentine to every other student, meaning each study sends 17 Valentines. 18 x 17 = 306).

Week of February 6:

Each group of three definitions describes three words that are spelled the same, except for one letter (each group describes a different set of words). Example: king, ring, wing.

Group 1: a round shape; spoken; a gemstone.

Group 2: highly skilled; to conform; to accept formally and to put in effect.

Answer:

Group 1: oval, oral, opal

Group 2: adept, adapt, adopt

Week of January 30:

A brain booster for cold weather:

It is known that water freezes from the top to the bottom. So, if you were to take a glass of water and put it in a freezer until it was half frozen, the bottom would not be frozen.

What would happen if you started to freeze the water in an upside-down glass?

Answer: You can't. The water would pour out of the glass long before it would freeze.

Week of January 23:

What is the common word among these four things?

1) 52 cards
2) Part of a ship
3) Popular Christmas song
4) Hit the _____!!

Answer:

the word deck

Week of January 16:

1. Why is Europe like a frying pan?

2. Forward, I am heavy; backward, I am not. What am I?

Answer:

1. Because it has Greece at the bottom.

2. A ton.